Liam Paro's story has just begun

Elliot Worsell talks to the IBF super-lightweight champion after his victory in Puerto Rico

You WORK hard for 12 weeks, you work hard for 12 rounds, then suddenly it stops. The work stops, the fight stops, and all you can do in the end is hope that you come out with the result you deserve; the result is worth all the hard work.

For Australia's Liam Paro, currently on holiday in Las Vegas, the hiatus from action and work has been as strange as it has been welcome. It all came to a screeching halt, as expected, when his hand was raised following a 12-round fight against Subriel Matias last month. Since then, he has been doing his best – first in the Bahamas, and now in Las Vegas – to resist the temptation to return to work and return to his factory status.

“It's still really sinking in but it's getting more and more real every day,” he said Debate News in his hotel room in Vegas. “We did a week in the Bahamas, me and my partner, and that was to blow off steam and relax. I was on seafood and it was good. It was a tough 12 week camp and now I'm back.

“It's fun, you know? It's been 10 days [since the fight] and now I'm ready for the next one.”

In the next “next” Liam Paro will enter the same but different ring. Which means that he will bring to the ring a work ethic and attitude similar to his usual one this time, and for the first time, he will be enhanced with the addition of the IBF super-lightweight belt, his award to highlight Matias, the favorite, in Puerto Rico on June 15.

“I always wanted to be a world champion,” he said. “Even when I was 13 years old, I was sitting on the bench telling my mother that I was going to be a world champion. I think that was after my first year of boxing and I had only had a few uneducated fights. Everything I do, I always aim as high as possible. I try to dream as big as possible. Point to the stars and hit the moon. I've always done that.”

When he was 13, he told his mother. It wasn't long before he made a promise to someone else. This person, Paro's best friend when he was young, had committed suicide in 2015 when he was only 18 years old. His name was Regan Grieve and it was to him that Paro's first world title was awarded.

“We were best friends growing up and he was always there,” explains Paro, who has Regan's initials, date of birth and date of death, as well as the words “Conquer the World”, tattooed on his ribs. “The worst day of my life was carrying my best friend in his coffin.”

He continued: “That's what I'm referring to when I say that I've gone through more difficult things mentally than these battles. I always tend to find the good in everything and use that for inspiration. There are times when you have to dig deep and I often think about that. He was my best mate; like my brother. It was a great loss. It's not right, you don't really want that to happen in life, but you just have to use it as motivation and try to find the good in every outcome, no matter how difficult it is. That's what I try to do every day.”

With this difficulty for a long time with him, in his heart and in his mind, the performance of Paro in Puerto Rico becomes very good. Above all, without having the engine and effect to stop the home player, Paro had to control his emotions and ensure that he did not deviate too much from the plan he had built in the camp.

“You can't get emotional, and you don't want to waste more energy,” he said. “But I'm always good under pressure. I always do well under pressure. It was only after that, when I raised my hand, that all the emotions started to flow. You heard it in the post-fight interview with all the F-bombs; typical Aussie. But that was just raw emotion. All we have in this life is our voice and being my man is what hits home. That's the biggest thing for me in all of this.”

Despite being undefeated at 25-0, 15 KO, Paro speaks with the humility and wisdom of someone who has been beaten a few times and matured as a result. He's confident, yes, but he's also real and without the illusion of glamor that often plagues other undefeated fighters entering their first bout as a world champion.

Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Whether this is because Paro, while undefeated, is no stranger to trouble, one can only speculate. But the 28-year-old from Queensland has certainly been influenced by his upbringing and won't be the type to take anything for granted.

“I come from the working class and I was brought up that way,” he said. “Nothing good in life comes easy and I know that. You have to work for the things you want and that's why I can stay humble. I was brought up knowing the importance of respect and courtesy is a big thing for me. Being part of a hard working family has made me the person I am today and I think you see that on fight night the way I fight.”

Another influence on the way he trains and fights, albeit to a lesser extent, is Paro's focus on rugby league. This, in fact, was the first sport that Paro took up as a young boy and something that he devoted himself to fully until boxing came along and stole his heart.

“I was doing both until the Under 16 and when they just didn't meet,” he recalled. “I was losing weight because of fighting with the people I played with and against them [in rugby] they grew bigger and bigger. I had to choose in the end and boxing was not a bad thing for me.

“You definitely get a strong brand out of it [rugby league]. It's a tough game. On the ground. It is difficult to contact. It just puts you in that mindset early on. But competitive boxing is what took me and I'm glad I chose boxing later. I had a little natural talent for it. I was very raw, but once I made up my mind about something I would stick with it and, with boxing, I still am today. I'm always learning new things.”

Even now, as a new world champion, Liam Paro's education is far from over. That's why he wants to get back to the gym as soon as possible, despite the lure of Las Vegas and its bright lights. It's also the reason why he's watched and studied his recent victories on tape – more than once.

“Yes,” he said, “I've watched it a few times now. I watched it properly for the first time two days later and it was great. I'm happy with how I fought and a lot of people are stuck. I'm still getting my head around it all, the enormity of it all, but we showed the world what we know.

“It's always a little different [watching it back]. It was a tough fight, indeed. I was very arrogant there. But I knew it would be difficult to get in. Matias was an amazing champion and his record speaks for itself. He can too. It was the perfect way to win the title, I believe. Looking back, I'm happy with how I fought.”

Apart from brushing up on his wisdom, Paro will also revisit his victory over Matias to see what he did well and what, if given the chance again, he could do better. Furthermore, as a scriptwriter who sees their dialogue performed by the actors on screen, Paro finds joy in seeing everything he and his team have worked on for 12 weeks come to fruition when it matters most.

“We knew what we were getting into,” he said. “We knew it would be a high level fight and we knew how Matias fought. We just stuck to the game plan and the game plan that we had worked well. I did it the way I needed to do it.

“I knew he was going into the middle rounds, but I built up my confidence as the rounds went on. He had power, yes, but not the power of one punch to knock me out. I saw that the war was going on for a long time. I was building momentum because of that. I expected him to be strong, yes, but from watching his fights I also saw that he was not a one-boxer; it is more accumulation.

“He usually beats guys and sticks to you like a bad smell. He doesn't give you space if you don't move. I thought he would hit a lot, but the game plan we had was good. I did not put. It was an entry strategy. He sees all the other fighters standing in front of him and then, if you let him get off his feet, he does damage and it gets worse. We never let him do that.”

After this act of disobedience, Paro must now do as he is told and not go to the gym for the foreseeable future. It's his reward – and, his punishment – for doing so well on his big night and training hard beforehand. A necessary part of his recovery, they say, is getting down. But try telling that to someone who only knows one speed; a person whose hunger has never been greater than now.

“I'm determined to get back to the gym, definitely,” said Paro. “Everyone around me tells me to relax a little but it was difficult for me to stay still. I'm eager to get the next belt and the next enemy locked up. I am very happy when I train in the gym, so I hope to change soon. I want to fight other guys with belts now. I think that's the plan. [Devin] Haney was a contender we were looking at, but he recently gave up his own [WBC] belt, which means I will have to focus on others. I'm happy to hit the road and try to put this section together. This is a high I want to keep chasing.”